Gas turbines are widely used in industrial and power generation operations. A typical gas turbine may include a compressor section, a combustor downstream from the compressor section, and a turbine section downstream from the combustor. A working fluid such as ambient air flows into the compressor section where it is compressed before flowing into the combustor. The compressed working fluid is mixed with a fuel and burned within the combustor to generate combustion gases having a high temperature, pressure, and velocity. The combustion gases flow from the combustor and expand through the turbine section to rotate a shaft and to produce work.
The combustor generally operates on a liquid or a gaseous fuel. However, the flexibility to operate a combustor on either a liquid or a gas fuel has proven to be beneficial to gas turbine operators. For example, dual fuel capability may allow the gas turbine operator to select a particular type of fuel for combustion based on various factors such as fuel costs, fuel availability, emissions requirements and/or overall plant efficiency requirements. Therefore, an improved dual fuel combustor, in particular an improved fuel nozzle for providing a liquid fuel to a dual fuel combustor, would be useful.